Somewhere In Time
by Sheol
Summary: Two Shot. NaruXSaku. I promise I will come back for you, Sakura, no matter what. Even if it means ripping my heart out a thousand times. I swear it.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Naruto.

A/N: This story starts out sad, it's just something you have to read past. I am dedicating this story to all who read Paper Heart and asked me for a sequel with a happy ending. No, this isn't a sequel to that story, but it is a non- one sided Naruto and Sakura. So don't stop reading cause of the beginning... cause it is a NarutoXSakura. And the beginning is misleading to how it ends.

**Some Where In Time**

_"Hey, Sasuke! You... want to take a walk with me?" Sakura asked eagerly, a look of adoration in her eyes I could only wish to be directed towards me._

_Sasuke waved her off again. "I have to train. You should do the same."_

_Slowly, his form retreated from her. I saw the look of disappointment stretch across her face, hurt in her eyes. If I could erase it all, I would. And as I watched Sasuke retreat, eagerness began to surface in me. A bright smile stretched out across my face._

_"Hey, Sakura!" I yelled in aniticipation. "I'll walk with you!"_

_Sakura glared at me, a deeper hurt in her eyes now. "Get lost Naruto! That wasn't for you to hear!"_

_My brow furrowed, as my smile was replaced with a look of irritation. "Yeah, well what's so great about Sasuke anyways. I could beat him."_

_Sakura sighed, as she stared off into the distance. A tender look appeared on her face, and a small smile tugged the side of her lips._

_"You know, I can still remember when we first met. I was nine. I was being bullied again after school. The boys had pushed me on the ground and were kicking me, calling me 'billboard brow.' Everyone would pass by me getting beat up and laugh. No one ever tried to help me. And then Sasuke showed up out of nowhere, and made them stop. He saved me, when no one else would. And then he just left."_

_Sakura sighed again, as the smile faded, and a look of adoration appeared in her eyes, the deepest of her tender feelings shining through them, as she clasped her hands together in front of her. And in that moment she glowed._

_"We didn't become friends afterwards. Because I was too shy to go up and talk to him. I didn't have the confidence I do now. So we just stayed apart. And I never told anyone this Naruto, but... That was the day I fell in love."_

**Chapter 1- Broken Promise**

_"Naruto! Naruto!"_

_I turned to see Sakura running towards me, tears in her eyes. The pain on her face was unimaginable._

_"What is it Sakura?"_

_"It's Sasuke! He left for Orochimaru!"_

_Silence. I could only watch as tears streamed down her perfect face, her soft skin glistening with the moisture._

_"Hey! Don't worry Sakura! I'll bring Sasuke back. I promise!"_

I sat in a row of chairs, all clad in black. Kakashi next to me, his expression somber. I could see the pain in his eyes, because he has now lost two students. I look back to the casket. It was black as well. The pain ripped through my heart as I gripped my black slacks, knuckles white. Why didn't she listen? I promised, didn't I? Wasn't that enough?

But it was a broken promise. He never returned.

I felt the tears sting the corner of my eyes, as the rain began to fall, concealing my shame.

_I walked towards her form standing on the bridge. The sun glistened her pink hair as it blew like silk behind her. That soft skin seemed to swirl with the wind as the light played shadows on it through the clouds. She was leaning slightly over the rail, dropping petals onto the water as she meticulously picked them off._

_As I neared her, the light caught the stream on her cheeks, as another fell from her deep, emerald eyes. Her brow was furrowed lightly, contorted into an odd expression as she held the stem with the single petal remaining._

_"Hey Sakura!" I called out, waving to her as I ran forward. A wide smile plastered on my face._

_She turned her head slightly away from me, as she wiped her face, then faced me, that fake smile plastered all over._

_"Sakura, what are you doing? You haven't been to practice all week. Not since..." My voice trailed off as I looked to her with concern._

_She looked down to the water, wind blowing through her cherry blossom hair. She was a form of art, really. Perfect porcelain skin, cherry red lips that hung from her face like some sort of forbidden fruit. I watched in awe as the hair settled once again around her face._

_"We use to meet here every morning, remember? Waiting for Kakashi because he was late." As Sakura spoke, I slowly realized we were in fact on that bridge. "When I stand here, I can feel all of us, like we were before the chunin exams."_

_"But we're not Sakura! We're stronger now." I wish I could just smile at Sakura, and she'd smile back, but I'm not Sasuke._

_"If I had chosen not to take the chunin exams... Sasuke would still be here."_

_And the look of guilt upon her face tore me. I looked down to the single petal on the flower, threatening to rip off in the wind. I motioned to the flower._

_"So does he love you."_

_And she closed her eyes from the pain._

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the death of Sakura Haruno, who died at the tender age of thirteen..."

The sky had since darkened, sending an eerie shadow across the grave yard. The rain scattered across the ground blanketing us in a mist, slowly drowning out the man's voice. I let the rain roll over my skin, slowly soaking up every spare bit of dry cloth I had. And there was her casket, protected from the rain by a small canopy.

But I could not protect her in life...

_I walked along Sakura through the market. She squeezed the small handle between her tiny hands which seemed almost engulfed by the bag. It was filled with fresh fruit._

_"Sakura, I'm really worried about you. I mean, it's been ten days since he left-"_

_"I'm fine Naruto. Really."_

_She sent me a reassuring smile. Her skin was even paler now taking on a ghostly glow in the sun. Her eyes were sunken, the green much darker than it had been in the past, the life slowly sinking deeper and deeper into her through those hollow sockets- and the light was fading fast. Her hair, a dull lifeless pink that matted to her skull like a cap, hugging her small frame. She was quickly becoming a ghost in my life,... just like him._

_"Sakura-"_

_"I said I'm fine. I've never felt better. Because Sasuke is coming back to us tonight."_

_Sakura turned and smiled to me, a wide smile that stretched her ghostly glistening skin, and her cheeks hollowed out at the ends of her lips. The devout loyalty, blinding happiness, complete confidence that her words were the truth above all others. And a cold chill ran up my spine._

We slowly filed up past the casket, viewing her body for the last time. I watched a couple cry as the reached into the casket past her view. That must be her parents...

More people filed past, shaking their heads, wiping the tears from their eyes, and then Kakashi. He did not cry, did not move, made no expression of sorrow. He stood for the longest time, simply staring at the body. And then he closed his eyes hard, and walked away.

And then it was my turn. With each step, I could feel my heart sinking far into my feet. I could feel my pulse beat harder, deeper into my ears. I closed my eyes, and sucked in a deep breath, carefully positioning myself before the casket, resting my hands on the cold wood frame that held her body. And then I slowly opened my eyes.

And there she was. Just as I remembered her before she was taken from me. Ten days after Sasuke was taken from me. The dull pink hair gripping her head, holding her deep in its lifeless form. The unearthly pale skin hugging her bones. The white lips, void of all life's blood. A deep cut spread from one ear to the other across her neck. But her eyes were closed... I thanked any gods I could count that her eyes were closed.

_I raced through the crowd, pushing aside the crying forms as I ran up to the house. A jonin tried to stop me, but I dodged his arm, his voice fleeting in the wind, as I ran through the threshold into Sakura's house._

_The house was a mess, trashed, tables turned over, shelves emptied. I pushed open Sakura's room to find her body laying on the bed, blood pooled around her motionless form soaked deep into the bed tainting it red. And the blood caked to the deep cut across her neck._

_I stood there, quiet, as my heart slowly caught in my throat. I listened as the droplets of blood played a grotesque melody as they hit the floor. Even in death, her form was beautiful, skin a perfect porcelain smooth as ever. She wore death beautifully._

I sat beside Kakashi, his eyes distant and blank. I felt the water that had pooled in my chair crease into every available part as I sunk deep into it. Then they slowly lowered the casket six feet deep into the earth, and I felt my heart sink six feet down to her.

_"Naruto, what are you doing here." Kakashi's voice boomed, demanding an answer._

_I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I had become frozen in time, and her body was now existence._

_"Who did this. I am going to..." My voice was hollow as it drifted through the room aimlessly._

_"Nobody did this. It was suicide. I'm sorry." He motioned to the note on her bedside table._

_"But the house..." My eyes still couldn't leave her._

_Silence._

_"We were... looking for something." Kakashi's carefully chosen words came into me and left just as quickly._

_I slowly crossed the room, eyes never moving from her body, as I came to the bedside table. My shoes settled in her life's blood, making a sickening smacking sound as they settled to a stand still. My eyes, I painfully ripped them from her body, as they settled on the note._

_"I couldn't bring him back to us, so now I will wait for him." I read her last words, and my mind spun._

_Silence._

_And the blood played out its sickening melody to the floor._

I could only watch as the other ninja buried Sakura. The rest of the mourners have long since left, and I was now the only one seated here. I couldn't bury her. I just couldn't bury her yet. As their bodies repeated the motion of scooping the dirt, I couldn't see them.

It was only Sakura standing there, her pale form on the mound, as the blood trickled down her neck past her arm to her fingertips, and slowly dripped to the ground.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so painful if she had died happily. If her death had even been a noble one, protecting a friend in battle. Or if she had just drifted off from some natural cause. But I can picture her there, alone, in her room crying. The tears choking her throat as they choke mine now. Is that why she chose the throat? Was she trying to cut the tears out of there?

I could hear the tears of God, feel them as they hit my hand, then slide down my fingertips, and plop to the ground. And it is her blood, sliding down her arm past her tips to the ground, playing out its frightening melody to me, running my blood cold.

_drip..._

_drop..._

_splat..._

_drip..._

_drop..._

_splat..._

And her ghostly form called me to her grave, motioning me over with a fever, begging to make Team Seven whole again, as her blood played its dying tune.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

I could see Kakashi approaching me. I sat there, in the cold sun, on the exact bridge we use to meet as Team Seven every morning. I carefully plucked each petal from the flower, dropping them on the glass water.

It was deadly. The repetitive motion. As the petal twisted through the wind and landed on the water, ripping it violently with its currents. And when it settled, there was Sakura, staring back at me from the water, with her ghostly skin and pale white lips, and those dead seas of green eyes.

I heard Kakashi's steps stop next to me. I could feel his presence consume me, competing with Sakura's for my attention.

"You haven't been to practice all week. Not since Sakura's death."

I ignored the demanding voice, as I picked off another petal and dropped it to the damned water.

"Naruto... we're all really worried about you. You haven't been yourself since... you have not smiled, you've barely talked. You've become very... quiet, reserved..."

I felt Kakashi's fingers as they reached down and traced the line beneath my eye. I watched the reflection, as the finger slid down Sakura's silky skin across her cheek.

"And you now have lines beneath your eyes. This isn't healthy." The concern in Kakashi's voice was deep.

But I still didn't answer. And as I came to the final petal, I looked at it with distaste, as I dropped the fully stem into the water.

Kakashi knelt down beside me, and rested his large hand on my small shoulder. I felt its warmth, as it radiated into my cold skin. He gripped my chin with the other, and carefully ripped my vision from Sakura's reflection. I met his eye, his one dark eye filled with pain and concern.

"I know Sakura's death was hard for you, and I want you to know I am here if you need me. I DON'T want to lose you as well."

I nodded my head slowly. He seemed mildly satisfied, as he turned and I watched his form retreat from me. I turned my head back to the glass water to meet my own eyes. My skin had become a ghostly pale as well, with lines tracing from the corners of my eyes across my cheek. My blonde hair did not rise in spikes any longer, and it hung in soft gold rivelets around my face.

As I stared at the glass water, an image caught my eyes at the bottom of my form. The reflection held a scroll tied to the bottom of the bridge. I stared at it curiosly for a moment, and carefully I reached beneath the bridge and felt the bottom for it. I watched my hand grasp it in the reflection, as I carefully wiggled it free from the strings.

I held it in my hand, its paper worn at the edges from age, and I carefully unravelled it and read its contents. The scroll only held one jutsu.

_The Shadow Time Jutsu_

A forbidden jutsu.

As I read further, a sense of urgency filled my body, as a quickly dying hope began to resurface.

"It's a time travel jutsu... making you able to travel into the past... but I thought that was just a myth."

_Sakura._

This must be what they were looking for. Sakura must have stolen it to save Sasuke. I bet she was going to stop us from taking the chunin exams. All she'd have to do is not sign up... but she wasn't able to perform the jutsu...

The sense of urgency grew stronger as the excitement rippled to every crevice of my body... I could stop her from killing herself. And not just that, I could make her happy.

I thought back to every look of disappointment I ever saw, as Sasuke rejected her time and time again. She didn't die happy... no, she died mourning Sasuke. Most would say the mourning began after he left, but I know the truth. She's been mourning him since the day he saved her after school. She been mourning his unrequitted love.

I stared at the scroll eagerly in my hands. I could change that. I could go back and stop him from saving her... And then Sakura won't kill herself.

I could still hear her words, echoing to me from beyond the grave.

_I couldn't bring him back to us... so now I will wait for him._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Naruto.

A/N: Upon being informed that the first chapter is terrifying, I decided to change the secondary genre from angst to horror. Sorry, I did not intend for it to be terrifying, but that is just my writing style. All my stories are like that.

Chapter 2- Walk With Me

_I sucked in the air greedily. I had been at this new jutsu for hours. My hands were burned from my chakra, my skin tingled from the effort- the bruises covering my skin straining my muscles further from the pain._

_I closed my eyes. I could feel it- the despair. Is this what killed her? Is this what guided the kunai across her throat? I opened my eyes. I could still see her. I could see her reaching out to me, the blood twisting down her pale arm, calling me, begging me to her grave to make team seven whole again._

_"I have to... I have to succeed. But how?..." Then it hit me. "The kyuubi!"_

_I closed my eyes again, but this time with a new fever. I concentrated, shutting out all noise- the birds, the hum of the insect wings, the wind. And I focused on the burning red chakra as warm as the summer's sun. I could feel it, searing my insides burning up through my skin. It tingled my skin beyond feeling until it was a numb red flash of pain. I flowed the hand signs out from rote memory. I had performed them so often now, it was like water in my hands, twisting out the signs with ease._

_I heard a light crackle, like fine hair being rubbed against my ears, then a deafening roar like the earth being split open. I squeezed my eyes shut further. I did not want to see this, because I knew this was wrong. I knew this was forbidden, and I was betraying the village I so loved by doing this. A strong wind was on my face now threatening to push me over, I could feel it twist around my body as the earth shook beneath my feet, and the rumble grew louder, threatening, and it was coming right towards me._

_And all I could think about was the image of a young Sakura being beaten by those bullies, and a young Sasuke saving her. The glow on her face, the light blush across her cheeks._

_"That was the day I fell in love..."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I blinked my eyes slowly, the bright sun blinding my eyes. I closed my eyes quickly trying my best to ignore the stinging pain that was now in the back of my eyes. I sat up off the ground and rubbed them, once again blinking my eyes awake.

I looked down slowly to my small hands. The first thing I noted- they weren't chakra burned. In fact, they were much too small to be mine. I felt my forehead for my forehead protector. None. I stood slowly and realized I was not where I was practicing the forbidden jutsu. No, I was in town. The streets were busting with life as shoppers moved from booth to booth buying their needs for the day.

I looked across the street at my reflection in one of the glass windows. I was a young boy, about nine. I frowned, scowling my face. _Aww, man. Not this again! You mean I have to live all this over!_

I stood there stationary in my orange jumpsuit. I was not blind, I could see it in their faces. The casual glances, the eyeing from their periphery vision. They were terrified. I could even see the sweat slowly roll down the side of their faces as they watched me, waiting... for what I never knew. I felt my heart sink, as I stood there next to the booth... _alone._

_I am all alone again._

"The jutsu worked though." I mumbled. I looked up to the sky. It was the afternoon judging by the sun. "Sakura said it happened after school. It must've brought me back to the day Sasuke saved her from the bullies..."

I felt my heart flutter with excitement. It worked, it really worked. All I had to do was think of the moment in time and it brought me there. A small smile crept back on my face as a new momentum rushed through me. _This time it will be different! This time, I'll save Sakura, then I can grow up with her! I won't be alone this time!_

A light blush drew across my cheeks at the thought as a goofy smile spread across my face. _And this time, Sakura will be happy. She will be happy and I will make sure she never frowns again._

It turned down the street and began walking towards the school, my hands crossed behind my head. I watched the sky casually as I walked. It was clear as can be, with the deepest of blues in it. And it was such a shame to have to waste the day cooped up in the class room. If it wasn't for Sakura, I would definitely be somewheres else right now.

I sighed again at the thought of the school. And to think I was a genin! Now I have to go through that stupid class all over again. I frowned as the scowl deepened on my face. A feeling of disappointment was growing in me. I worked so hard to get to where I was, and now my chakra is right back down to where it use to be.

"Oh well, I'll just have to work twice as hard this time!" I said laughing.

I suddenly felt myself collide with a hard surface, and stumbled back a few steps. I rubbed my face as I looked down from the sky. "Hey! Watch where you're- huh? Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi looked down from his book casually. "Hmm... oh I didn't see you there. What did you call me?"

I blinked a few times, confused. _Oh, that's right. He's not my sensei yet. _A smile crept across my face. _Well, at least I'll have fun playing that eraser prank on him again!_

"Shouldn't you be in school." Kakashi stated this more than asking as he eyed me carefully.

"Oh, umm, yeah I was just heading that way." I couldn't stop smiling, just picturing that eraser whacking his head. I can't wait to pull that prank again.

"Well then, I suppose you won't mind me walking you to the school."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"After school detention! But you can't!" I shouted, practically leaping from my chair in the principal's office.

The tall, bald man with tanned skin stared at me with disinterest. "I can and I will." He stated flatly.

"But this day is VERY important to me! I have to be outside the school afterwards!"

This man is going to ruin it all for me, everything I worked for, everything I sacrificed. I sacrificed everything I earned for Sakura- being a genin, the little respect I had earned at the chunin exams, and all that skill I had trained for. I wasted all of it to come back and save Sakura, to make her happy. And he's going to ruin it all with this stupid detention!

The man smirked, the smile twisting up his face. "Well then, you should have thought about that before skipping school for the festivals." I stared at him stumped. "That is why you skipped school, right?"

Sakura was saved by Sasuke... on that day? It was a force of habit I admit. I always skip school for the festivals. And I always got detention the next day. I stared down at the floor dejected.

"What's the matter? Aren't you going to tell me it was worth it like you always do."

"Just give me the slip." I muttered beaten.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I walked down the hall. I could feel my heart sink with every step towards Iruka's class. To think, my entire plan could be messed up by one man, and Kakashi nonetheless. Now Sasuke will save Sakura from those bullies, and she'll fall in love with him all over again. I frowned, anger boiling lightly in me at the thought.

_And she'll suffer all over again... no, not this time._ "I will be there after school."

I stopped outside Iruka's classroom door. I could hear him lecturing something again that makes no sense to me. His lectures never do. I took in a deep breath and opened the door. I could feel everyone's eyes turn and rest on me. A slight feeling of discomfort centered in the pit of my stomach as the whispers started, like they always do. They always whisper about me. I tightened my fist at my side. I wanted nothing more than to scream at them.

"Well, Naruto, it's nice of you to join us, but you're late!" Iruka shouted.

"I know I'm late." I muttered handing him the slip his hand was already reached out for.

"I'll see you after class, now take a seat. Class is almost over."

I took my seat in the back of the class. I looked up at the clock just in time to hear the bell ring.

"Class is over. Now study the assigned chapters and I'll see you tomorrow." Iruka announced as everyone got up to leave.

I felt the desperation sink in as I scanned the class desperately for Sakura. My eyes locked onto her pink hair. I blinked a moment, almost not recognizing her. Her green eyes weren't as bright as they always were, and her pink bangs hung over her forehead hiding it dangling into her eyes. _I can't see her beautiful face..._ I thought sadly as I tried desperately to see the face I ached for since the day I found her lying dead like that.

I slipped into the crowd of students and began heading towards the door keeping my eyes locked on Sakura's form. I could feel my heart beat quicken with her every movement. And still, despite all the time apart, her movements were still like poetry to my eyes.

I suddenly felt someone jerk my shirt backwards choking my throat pulling me from the crowd.

"And where do you think you're going Naruto? You've got detention to serve!" Iruka screamed from behind me.

I turned to face Iruka, his eyes beneath furrowed brows staring down menacingly. Oh, he was mad. But watching Sakura's form pass by the window, I couldn't help but think... if I was a different kind of kid, I wouldn't have been at the festival to begin with. I wouldn't have to be going back in time, because I would've already been there when she needed me most.

I sighed and stared down at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"W-what?!" Iruka nearly screamed.

I brought my eyes back up to face Iruka. It really didn't matter anymore, I had failed Sakura, and at this age I am not fast or strong enough to beat Iruka to save her. I could feel my heart fall down to my feet as all the pain resurfaced that I had thought I had left behind. I squeezed my eyes shut to force back the tears.

"I can't do it Iruka-sensei." _I can't watch her die again._

_And what would you expect, for me to live the next few years knowing she will die?_

I felt a large strong hand on my shoulder. "Naruto, you look... older."

I opened my eyes to meet his, pain flowing through them. I could see his large, brown eyes staring back, filled with concern.

"Listen, why don't we go get some ramen? You can serve your detention tomorrow."

I blinked, surprised. I was speechless for a moment before I spoke. "Could... we get the ramen tomorrow... after detention? I really need to go."

Now it was Iruka's turn to blink. He looked stumped as he rubbed the back of his head. "You're turning down ramen?! Umm... okay, I supose, but are you-"

"Thanks Iruka-sensei! You're the best!" I shouted as I ran out the door.

_Maybe I'm not too late!_ My feet slapped against the hard surface as I raced down the hall. _Maybe I can still save her!_ I slammed the door open and raced across the grass, eyes darting for her.

I froze as my eyes settled on her pink hair, my heart beating out of my chest and lifting up with the excitement, the knowledge that she will not die now... only to sink back down to its rightful home. I watched as Sasuke extended his arm to the bruised Sakura, her small form surrounded by unconscious bullies. I saw the red blush fill her cheeks, her eyes glisten with adoration as she timidly took his hand and rose with his pull.

I watched her small mouth form a thank you, those two words leaving those cherry red lips. Sasuke smirked, nodding at her thanks, and waved goodbye as he walked briskly through the grass. And Sakura stared on as he left, her blush deepening, and I could see it written across her face, in her eyes, in her heart, that unconditional adoration, such a look of pure love following his form.

_And she can never follow him where he will go... but she will wait for him._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I stared at the river from my sitting position on the bridge, legs hanging over the side. This is where team seven would always meet every morning before their training, before their mission. I plucked another petal from the flower and dropped it into the wind, watching as it drifted down turnin and twisting before it landed on my reflection, thrashing it with its ripples.

"Perhaps it just wasn't meant to be..." I muttered.

I heard small footsteps stop close to me, then turn as if to leave. I looked up to see a flash of pink hair as the person was turning.

"Sakura!" I shouted.

The young girl stopped, then turned to face me, her face blushing. "Y-you know my name."

"Of course I do." I said, as I remembered we hadn't meant yet. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki."

The young girl nodded shyly, trying her best to hide behind her bangs. "I'm sorry for bothering you. I just... I come here a lot."

"It's okay. You can stay if you like." I patted the bridge next to me, smiling eagerly for her to sit. She looked unsure for a moment, then finally sat next to me on the bridge.

I looked over her features as she stared at the water. She reminded me more of Hinata now than Sakura, with her shyness and timid nature. Sakura had said she lacked confidence when she was younger, but that was an understatement. The Sakura I knew would have beaten the bullies to a bloody pulp. She really was an unblossomed flower, but the most beautiful of the buds.

I stared at her, soaking in her beauty. Despite the pink mop of bangs dangling in her eyes, she was still lovely. The way the sun glistened in her pink tresses, how the water danced over her smooth milky skin. The sun sent beads of light through her emeralds of eyes, and those cherry red lips.

And I could see it, that ghostly pale skin stained with blood as it trickled through those paper white lips down her chin. Her fragile hair that clung to her skull in blood clotted mats, old with sweat. Those sunken dull green eyes tormented by whispers of hell, and that slight crack in those pale lips echoing that silent scream, like a phantom... _I couldn't bring him back to us... so now I will wait for him..._

_Because of my broken promise._

Sakura glanced to me, then blushed lightly and looked back down to the water, shifting uncomfortably in her place. "Why are you staring at me?" She asked nervously.

Now it was my turn to blush. "Oh, umm, sorry, it's just that you're beautiful." _In a haunting way._

I wanted to smack myself with that statement. Smooth, it's obvious she likes Sasuke, why even try to change the future? You know how it's going to play out. But still, that didn't stop my heart from fluttering in my chest, trying madly to beat through its cage.

Sakura furrowed her brows as she glared lightly at the water. "Don't lie."

I looked at her confused. "I'm not."

_Out of all who I left behind, your face will always be... the most haunting._

I watched as she covered her forehead with her hand and blushed. "You don't think I'm beautiful. You're just teasing me cause of my forehead!"

_She thinks she's not beautiful cause of her forehead..._ "But I'm not teasing you. I like you're forehead."

I took her hand and lowered it from her forehead. Her eyes fluttered up to me as she stared deep into my blue eyes. Gently, I lifted her pink bangs back out of her eyes revealing two deep green gems questioning me. I felt my heart beat like a pulse through my body pounding beneath my skin as I leaned in and planted a kiss on her forehead, her hot skin burning my lips. I leaned back, expecting a slap for my actions, but she merely stared back with a light blush.

"You... like my forehead." She muttered. "No ones ever complimented my forehead before."

And that is when I saw it. The look of adoration in her eyes, a look of uncompromised love, and for the first time... she was looking at me with it. I could only stare back and bask in it, something I doubt Sasuke ever did. No, he was too busy to notice such a look of love. To see how her eyes glisten with such emotion, how it makes her skin glow and her smile more beautiful than anything on this planet. And I want to live in those eyes forever.

Because Sasuke had the adoration of many and did not notice even one, and I had the adoration of none and longed for only one.

"I just want you to be happy Sakura." _I don't want to see you spend your life mourning his unrequited love. I don't want to watch you suffer again. _"I will always come back for you, no matter what." _Even if it means ripping my heart out a thousand times watching you die._

Sakura stared down at her thumbs as she played with them in her hands. "I think I am happy." She said almost giddy.

I watched her as a surge of happiness flowed through me that was almost alien. Sakura was happy, and she was happy because I made her that way. I smiled as I realized slowly, I was being given a great gift right now. I will now be able to grow up with Sakura, and I will be the one to watch her slowly blossom into the Sakura I know. And it is the most beautiful gift ever.

I stood slowly and held my hand out to her, calling her to me. She looked up questioningly with her large emerald eyes.

"Walk with me." I asked her.

She smiled as she took my hand and rose with me. I held her hand, as she stood in front of me watching me through young bright eyes, and I watched her through aged ones... ones that matured and dimmed long before their time.

She leaned forward, nervous, and pressed her cherry lips onto mine. I felt my heart skip with the friction, as I held her close, tasting her for the first time. Her soft velvet lips sliding over mine in a quick chaste motion, then breaking from mine. Her face flushed and lips breathless from the simple motion. And my heart softened, just staring at her young form.

We walked, with joined hands, across the bridge of team seven into Konoha, and this time it will be different. Because Sasuke saved her body, but I saved her heart. This time, I held her first, and now I will never let her go. And when she dies, it will not be for mourning.

_I couldn't bring Sakura back to us, so now I will wait with her... somewhere in time._

A/N: My time travel thing probably isn't completely accurate, what with me not knowing how to travel in time and all, but this is how it is intended.

There is no parallel universes. Mine is intended as in: Naruto traveled back in time and merged with his past self thus literally altering the single future, not creating two parallel futures. So there was only one past Naruto, not two running, around in this story. And there is only one future, not two parallel ones. :)

Hope you liked the story... I did.


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